Diary of a Sabbatical

Tuesday, 22 January 2013

I’ve been looking at lots of
sofas recently as my sofas are pants.I
bought two new leather sofas from Furniture Village about five years ago and
the leather is peeling and they look atrocious.I’ve got to cover them with various throws and blankets to look half
decent…not the look I was going for…that was more the warn in, slouchy,
comfortable, aged and vintage look but instead got peeley horrid look.WARNING beware what leather grade you are
getting when purchasing new chairs or sofa or it will look like this!

I didn’t know that such a
thing could happen to leather…just thought leather was leather…but
noooooo! So looking at new sofas so I
can think about how much I might need to save to replace my two peeley ones!

Now I’m loving sofa.com and
made.com as they really have some stunning little sofas at very good prices and
Made.com has a sale on at the moment which increases the valueability, that is
to the likes of redundant self! Also
loving the small collection by French Collection that DFS are collaborating
with, especially the Coast sofa collection, yummy.

Monday, 7 January 2013

Happy
New Year to you and I hope you had a wonderful Christmas….I did.I was truly spoilt by my wonderful husband
and daughter along with my family.My
dogs had a splendid time as well with plenty of toys to pull apart instantly
until they are now just wee scraps of material…stuffing and squeak all
gone!

Tuesday, 27 November 2012

Looking
at so many wonderful blogs and pictures of impending Christmassy stuff right
now.It makes me very excited with all
the possibilities for decorating the Christmas table and tree.Take a look at this site and the wonderful
way the table has been created…I do love it http://t.co/dPTZGuKS
so atmospheric and evocative.What do you
think?

My
own Christmas table will look slightly different….partly due to the fact I can’t
afford Willaim Yeowood tableware…yes yes yes but I know its oh so gorgeous…..the
other is it’s just me and my man this year as daughter is spending it with her
young man’s family.Tricky when ones little
one leaves the nest!So a slightly
scaled down affair this year but doesn’t have to mean less glamorous.

Here’s
some of my browsing’s for a table setting

{www.gridleygraves.com}

Lovely
but not sparkly enough

{MuralMax Interiors}

Ummmm
too fruity

{www.bowerpowerblog.com}

The
right balance of fruitiness and quite gorgeous but not this year

{homeklondike.com}

Too
sparkly…I know I wanted sparkly but it’s a finite balance isn’t it

{snaidero-usa.com}

Simple
and beautiful but too formal I think………but on this kinda theme I think by Jove I
might have found it

{Bond Ville}

{www.bowerpowerblog.com}

Now
this I love…lovely table setting with a little sparkle and perhaps I could try
to re-create this with the baubles hanging above the table in a more muted
silver….not too expensive, chic and simple to do.I think I have my table setting sorted this
Christmas now.My sister will be so
proud of me as she thinks about all this stuff in about October if not
September, as she gets so excited about what she is going to do and her theme…me
I just wing it usually but not this year as now have a different outlook on all
things beautiful.My eye is more
decerning….im in training for that stuff you know!!

Friday, 16 November 2012

I
have had some shite times in my life (big one recently) but generally I have
been lucky to find a man who loves and accepts me for who I am, a beautiful
daughter who is just a perfect miracle, a supportive and loving family and some
wonderful friends.But these are things I
work at…things I try and nurture….the surprises are those people whom I don’t know
but show acts of kindness that are unexpected and kinda restore my faith in the
human race.Not on a huge scale just
little kindnesses that take a little effort on their behalf but seem to be done
so freely.

Three
examples:

I
am a bit of a luddite, perhaps you can tell but the pants look of my blog but
trying to make it better just gets it all twisted up and I revert back to the
basic!There was a lovely person who
worked in my team and she left to go have a baby, I didn’t know her very well but
a little.Unfortunately there were
complications but her little Smidge (baby that is) is doing fine and all ok…phew!She recently met me for coffee and spent at
least 2 hours of her precious time to walk me through Twitter…not an easy task
but she did and I thank her profusely.She
didn’t have to do this but it was the milk of human kindness…bless her.

The
second is a blog I stumbled across recently called English Buildings http://englishbuildings.blogspot.co.uk/
and there is this chap who writes very eloquently and knowledgeably on…you
guessed it…English Buildings.Well it’s
a fascinating blog and there was a house he looked at that I found interesting
so I left a comment asking for the architect’s name.He responded, obviously having done some work
to find out.Then I cheekily asked if he
could recommend another house from the 19th century and he gave me
lots of suggestions and also another chap got involved and offered more suggestions
too.How kind and generous that was, I
am very grateful.

The
third, I have a new opportunity to work (Saturday girl…not quite girl at my age
but you get the drift!) at an Interior Design House called Ashton House Design http://ashtonhousedesign.co.uk/ I
went in last weekend for initial day and was blown away by how sweet and
welcoming they were.My previous job was
a bit cut throat really with lots of rivalries so this was unexpected and truly
lovely.The Principle Designer was fab
and let me follow her around all day and couldn’t have been more attentive….the
assistant designer was equally as lovely and both offered lots of information
to a girl who knows diddly squat…they were very patient!!Again kindness not expected.

So,
just wanted to put in writing how lovely some people are and recognise their acts
of kindness…..blimey all a bit soppy I know but it has to be done every now and
again with genuine heartfelt gratitude not platitude!!!

Monday, 12 November 2012

I’m
a lucky girl to live in this part of the country.Dartmoor is one of the most beautiful places
on earth I think, especially in the Autumn when there is so much to see as the emerald
green of lush spring and summer dies back to reveal its structural splendour….what
do you think?

However,
there is always a little lushness and colour for those willing to seek it out!

Friday, 9 November 2012

Brrrrr
it’s getting colder now autumn’s really settling in.Snuggled up by the Rayburn during the day in
the kitchen studying and then by the wood fire in the evening watching rubbish
as lazy bugger….lovely as this is what the autumn/winter was designed for I
guess.Talking of what winter was
designed for, check out the beautiful fires at this site www.focus-creation.comOh My Lord (that sounded a bit 50 Im sorry) I
particularly love this one where the doors are made of rusted steel and signed by
the artist Dominique Imbert who is the creator of Focus Fireplaces.It’s not just the most spectacular piece of
art but gives warmth too…I am in love!

Whilst
I was day dreaming about a house where I could have this stunning fireplace
(!!) I got to thinking about living spaces in front of the fire. So I was
musing about warmth, the sort that you can wrap yourself in, I went off again
dreaming about gorgeous throws for my sofa and bed.I tell you, undertaking an interior design
diploma makes me look at my home and want to change stuff….obviously keep some
key pieces that we love and are attached to but yearn for cohesion, simplicity, rooms to have better rhythm and perhaps
better symmetry in a way I never knew I would!!!!So there I was looking for blankets and came
across The Atlantic Blanket Company www.atlanticblankets.com
and blimey they are gorgeous in mouth-watering colours and textures..…what do you
think?

Beautiful
mohair and wool throw…the colours are just exquisite I think.

This
is my favourite one…gunmetal grey mohair

Now
all I need is The Conran Shop’s version of Zanotta’s ‘William’ three-seater sofa
and life would be a little more comfortable……ha ha ha who am I kidding its
£11,265 but a girl can dream.

Talking
of beautiful things there is a blog I follow called Positively Beauty by
Christina Colli and its fab www.positivelybeauty.com
please go take a look if you are not already plugged in as its pretty cool and
she has just had a styled photo shoot for Christmas published in November’s Cotswold
Life Magazine.How exciting and well
deserved, really good to support her.

Monday, 29 October 2012

I
finished my first module and submitted it for marking…..I surprised myself and
got 100%.Woohoo, I’m so happy to
actually get something right as was worried my tutor would just send it back
laughing with sympathy in his eyes and shaking his head at my dismal attempt to
understand the rudiments of space, line, light, texture, balance, emphasis and
scale etc. but no, I do understand these concepts a little.Putting them into practice is a little
trickier than understanding in principle.That part is to come I hope further down the line when I have more of a foundation
to stand on.

However,
right now I love learning about Interior Design and there is more to it than
meets the eye.More than I originally
thought and it takes me ages to finish a module because I don’t understand or
know anything at the start but gradually it sinks in and I get the gist. This next
module is all to do with the History of Style, Decoration and Architecture.

I
didn’t think about early cave dwellers with their carvings and drawings on cave
walls as interior design or Michelangelo’s work in the Sistine Chapel come to
mention it but this is the question I pose for myself now.Is it?I think so.You know when I started
thinking about what I wanted to do to make a transition from my old job to
something new, Interior Design was the first thing that really got me
excited.I was a little concerned people
might think of it as frippery silly decorating and chucking a few cushions
around but it so is not that at
all.

There
are some seriously good interior designers out there who have or who are
shaping the world we sit in for the good.It’s not just aesthetics, it’s how we feel, it’s how we live, it’s what
we show others and what we don’t show about ourselves, it’s a culmination of
historical influences that I expect a lot of people take for granted or don’t
see (I didn’t) that guide our taste, it’s aspirational and inspirational and I love
it.

I
was squizzing through the internet looking at various influential architects
and designers and came across Frank Gehry…blimey has this man got vision.Considered one of the best architects of our
time and designed such places as the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Walt Disney
Concert Hall in Los Angeles and The Dancing House in Prague to name but a few.

When
I first looked at his designs I really didn’t like them but now I see the
beauty.They are spectacular actually
and can only marvel at such talent in one man….check out his stuff http://www.gehrytechnologies.com/architecture/recent-work
the thing is he not only concerns himself with the outside but also the inside
and essentially obeys the principles and elements of design but with spectacular
effect.I think
the same thing (almost) when I look at the inside of a Kit Kemp Hotel (Firmdale
Hotels), beautiful spaces and cleverly, imaginatively and boldly designed.I can hear people shrieking at me now….that I
can’t compare THE most influential architect of our times to a hotel owner who
designs her own interiors but I am in a way…it’s all design one way or another
just different mediums and different materials.Same as our cave dwelling ancestors who told a story they wanted to
convey with the medium of the visual.

Staying
with architecture for a moment I wonder what anyone thinks of this year’s RIBA
Stirling Prize winner…..The Sainsbury Laboratory designed by Stanton &
Williams (go check it out http://ribastirlingprize.architecture.com/)

Blog Archive

About Me

Worked for a fabulous charity called EDP Drug and Alcohol Services that provide interventions to those wanting to explore recovery from substances in their lives. Unfortunately I was made redundant a couple of months ago and have decided to do something a little different from managing drug and alcohol services and enrolled on an interior design course to stir up my creative bones.